Chapter 8

My body hurt as if a thousand pins were constantly prickling me at all points in my body, hitting bone each time. But that was nothing compared to the pain my brain was going through. It felt like I had been given an exam for the last seven days, without any rest or sleep. And to top all of that, I was struggling with the revelation of my powers. But the most important emotion that had permeated every fibre of my being was the absolute dread, the mind-numbing fear of staring death in the face, of the evilest and unnatural thing I had ever seen, the grim reaper. I didn’t think I would ever forget the feeling of being stared at by the emotionless pits that were reaper’s eyes or the feeling of despair I felt at staring right back into the abyss.

It was while I was in this state of mind, kneeling with my head bowed, looking as if I had lost everything near and dear to me, with my teacher lying unconscious beside me, recently brought back from the dead, that I became aware of faint footsteps which were gradually getting louder. By that point, though, I was at my breaking point. I didn’t care enough to see who or what was coming or whether the footsteps belonged to someone who wished to do me harm. If they did want to do end my existence, I just wanted it to be quick, so that I could get the images of the reaper out of my mind.

“Get a hold of yourself, will you?” To say that I was stunned to hear that voice at that moment in time and the situation, I was in, would be an understatement. I couldn’t believe it. As I looked up to confirm my suspicions regarding the identity of the speaker, I was still shocked to see Emma Turner walking towards me with all the authority of a divine being forced to walk the same roads as ordinary mortals.

I would be shocked beyond measure normally, but by that point I was numb. This was just another random event that shouldn’t have happened but had happened simply because I seemed to be involved. I couldn’t get the words out my mouth as Emma reached me and stood before me with a firm look on her face.

“How long are you just going to stare at me? I know I am beautiful but this is too much. Let’s get going! Maybe you haven’t noticed it yet but your teacher needs help and fast! Coming from death isn’t normally something a person’s core has to go through.”

Her words stunned the life out of me! How did she know what had happened here? But I was too drained to ask any questions. I just nodded towards her and with great effort, picked myself up off the ground.

I moved towards Samuel to carry him when Emma intervened, saying, “You are in no state to carry him. I can carry him; you just take care that you don’t fall over yourself. The drain on your core is too much for you to handle after just one month as an Untethered. Here, take this. It should help.” She passed me a pill that looked eerily similar to the one Frank had given me the day I became an Untethered. I just popped it in my mouth without any questions. The effect was instantaneous, the general weariness leaving my body. But the pill couldn’t do anything about the mental shock I was experiencing.

Emma heaved Samuel on her shoulder and set off, motioning at me to follow her. It was after a while that I noticed something peculiar and I asked Emma about it.

“We aren’t moving towards Frost’s club, are we? Where are we going, or rather, where are you taking me?”

“Astute observation. Some people want to meet you. Don’t worry, I will inform Frost of where I am taking you. He won’t mind. In fact, he might even welcome it.”, she said, nonchalant as always.

I was in no mood for vague non-answers tonight. My teacher had been killed, I had stared death right in its eyes and then brought the aforementioned dead teacher back to life. So, excuse me if I was a little short of patience. And I voiced my thoughts to Emma in less than favourable terms, consequences be damned!

“Fuck this, fuck your answers and most importantly, fuck you! I am not in the mood for your bullshit tonight. Either you tell me what’s going on or we go our separate ways.”, I shouted with as much force I could muster, adamant on receiving some answers.

Emma looked back at me for a moment before saying, “No, you won’t. Don’t forget, I am carrying your teacher. I don’t think you would leave your mentor in the hands of a person who you don’t think particularly trustworthy.”

Damn, she had me there. I had no choice but to continue following her.

She continued, “ We should hurry. The grim reaper always leaves huge traces after it has left a place. Untethered and monsters alike will be attracted to this place now. And believe me, when I say this, anyone, be it Untethered or monster, who follows the tracks of the grim reaper has nothing but nefarious intentions. We don’t want to be present when the crowd arrives.”

Her words struck a chord with me and I followed after her. We moved in total silence, with a brisk pace, eager to leave the spot of my misadventure.

Some questions had been bugging from the moment I saw her tonight and I decided to take my chances.

“Were you at the scene when, you know, that creature came?”, I asked, too fearful of the grim reaper to say his name out loud.

“The grim reaper? You can say his name, you know? It won’t come again just because someone says his name.”, Emma said, amused at my current predicament.

“Yeah, that. And you still haven’t answered my question, you know?”

Emma scoffed at me before replying, “Yes, I was present there. Satisfied? Forgive me if I didn’t want to die at the hands of the grim reaper.”

I couldn’t fault her for that sentiment, although I was still feeling really salty.

“Where are we going, by the way? I haven’t seen this part of town ever.”, I asked, finding myself in unfamiliar surroundings.

“That’s because this an exclusive part of the city that only Untethered can access, that is if they know of this place. And most Untethered aren’t privy to this information.”

This was becoming more and more mysterious by the minute. A secret part of the city that was accessible only to the Untethered but most of those concerned didn’t know about this place.

Most of the area was deserted, devoid of any buildings or life in general. It was in this desert of nothingness that we came across a small shed. The door of the shed was opened by Emma and she went inside, beckoning me to follow her. I hesitated for a moment before going inside. What I saw inside surprised me, even though I was kind of expecting something like this, to be honest. The inside of the shed contained a long hallway that shouldn’t have fitted inside the tiny shed we were supposedly in.

But what really threw me off was the door at the end of the hall. It was a large wooden door, decorated with intricate carvings. The art on the door seemed to be beyond the realms of any ordinary human capabilities. To see such designs on a door in the middle of nowhere once again reminded me not to be surprised with anything in the Dimension.

The door opened with a loud creak as soon as we approached it. We passed through the door and were met almost immediately by a woman who had her entire face masked, except for her eyes.

Emma passed Samuel over to her and without a word, the woman took him and rushed to go somewhere. When I made to follow them to ensure the safety of Samuel, I was stopped by a raised hand, courtesy of Emma.

I tried to shake her hand off but she was surprisingly strong. I asked her, “ Who was that and where is she taking Samuel?”

Emma put her hand down and said, “Don’t fret. She is the healer. She will take care of Samuel. We have other things to take care of. Follow me.”

I started following her but my questions weren’t finished. “Why does he need to be taken care of? Didn’t I, you know, heal him enough already?”